Delayed diagnosis of aluminum soda‐can cover impact in the upper esophagus of a toddler: A rare cause of chronic feeding difficulty and recurrent aspiration

Abstract

Foreign body ingestion is a common occurrence in young children and may present with a wide range of nonspecific symptoms. Diagnosis can be challenging, particularly when the ingestion is unwitnessed and imaging studies are inconclusive. We present a case of a child with recurrent hospital admissions for respiratory symptoms that did not improve with standard management, along with repeated choking episodes that led the family to rely solely on milk feeds and avoid solid foods. Despite normal chest X‐rays and magnetic resonance imaging findings, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed an aluminum soda‐can cover lodged in the upper esophagus.